I first saw Matt fill in for Farve in GB on a Monday night game, he was impressive ... Then we got Holmy and he eventually brings this Matt Hasselbeck guy in and I was stoked !!! Everybody gave me crap for supporting the move and seeing the silver lining. In the end, I was right, he totally rocked !!!

I will always be a fan of Matt's, he is a class act and a heck of a person, always took the high road ...

I actually shed a tear when I heard it was over, hard to believe ... He'll always be my favorite.

Spounge84 wrote:Hey guys I've been thinking, this thread is nice and all but considering that this is Matt we're talking about and how much of a class act he has been, maybe we could get together find a way to actually send our thanks to the man himself.

Thank you, Matt. You've been my favorite Seahawk for a number of years now and you're repaid my trust with class, dedication, and more memorable games that I can count. I wish you nothing but the best for the rest of your career. See you in the Ring of Honor.

I hate it that he's gone. I can't wrap my head around it, seeing as I've never experienced another starter on the team. I turned a fan in late 2003.. thanks to my uncle playing Madden and teaching me to.

Lots of great stuff in here. I'll miss Matthew a ton. The best quarterback this team has had, IMO. And one of the brightest, funniest and easiest guys to root for that I've ever witnessed. In any sport.

I hope he goes into coaching or the broadcast booth, so I can continue to see him around.

I created a twitter account to send him a thank you... probably the only tweet I will ever do but I figured he might see it

I was at work today and somebody said "isn't that a hassle to ...." - BAM instantly think of Matt. Walk into the laundry room and the washer and dryer have 8 minutes left.... I have a feeling things like this will continue for a while. He is a special man.

We got our season tickets in 2001 so it will be strange going to the games this year and not watching him play

Gunslinger wrote:I wish you would have retired a Seahawk, but good luck in Tenn (unless you play the Hawks) ;-)

I can't wait until he comes back here! I get goosebumps just thinking about the ovation he will get . Imagine the polar opposite of when Josh Brown comes to town haha. Probably going to be a lot like McNabb returning to Philly.

Matt, you sir are my hero. I'm sorry we didn't pull one out there in '05 but you and I both know that was suspect to say the least. I was worried after Bradshaw ruined our NFC party with his dumb "humor", had a bad feeling after that, try not to block below the waist next time?

Thanks Matt. You're what got me back into football after not following it since watching early Hawk games with my Dad. You'll always be my favorite Hawk and this is a sad day. I guess I'll be watching the Titans as well this year. Hope you win all your games (unless playing us : )! You were and always will be our Rockstar...

I love Matt for what he has done for us in the past but it was obvious to me that his skills are diminishing he played bad all year long until the playoffs i am sorry but it is time to get our QB of the future and it is not Tavaris Jackson, unless he has a great year. Landry Jones, Matt Barkley, Andrew Luck and there are a lot of QB's in this class. Thanks Matt for taking us to the Super Bowl and good luck in Tennessee.

what i notice and enjoy the most from the Beast Mode "run" is when after the TD theres that shot of matt smiling from ear to ear with his hands in the air like "what? thats right. were the seahawks and we just did that!". thats what ill miss

Man, reading through this thread is killing me. Sometimes I wanted to throttle Matt, and sometimes I wanted to give him a bear hug through the TV, but in the end it's strange to see him gone. I almost can't believe it even now.

We'll miss you Matt, thanks for everything you did for our city and our team, and good luck in Tennessee.

Oh, and I still love your tweet to Cromartie at the start of the lockout. Priceless!

It just won't be the same without seeing Matt roaming the sidelines. Ten Years is a long time to stay with a team. One thing I can say about Matt when he was on the field....he gave 100% of himself. More than once he put this entire team on his shoulders and carried them into the endzone. Thank you, Matt!

Thanks for the memories Matt. You saw this team through it's best years and I am really sorry that you couldn't stay. You made being a Seahawks fan so much fun and you were as fun and entertaining a player off the field as you were on the field and I will miss not having you as a Seahawk. I am sure your goofy sense of humour (and dress sense!) will be missed by Seahawks players and fans alike. A class act and in the mold of a player, person and leader that I like the most.

You have given so much to this team and it's fans. Can only wish you all the best. Really hope you find your way back here some day.

I must bea far-gone Seahawks fan because I got a little weepy when Walt retired and I feel the same way about Matt leaving. So many memories, frustrations, exultations, the good, the bad and the terribly ugly. For me, that interview was brutal, I could see and feel his pain but admire him for being positive and articulate about it. There is no doubt that our #8 will be a much sought after broadcaster when he hangs up the cleats.

Matt is such a special person that it's no wonder "we want the ball and we are going to score" became an iconic statement. And it's a testament to Matts character that such a statement can be seen in such a positive light. No other professional player, NFL, NBA, or Baseball could made such a blunder in to such of an endearing and funny statement.

God Bless you and yours Mr. Hasselbeck. And thanks to Pete and John for being the ones to let Matt know.

Matt has been on of my all time favorite Seahawks and it will be weird watching my team without him being there. I thank him for all the memories and wish him the best in Tennessee.

I also totally agree with the sentiment that once his playing days are over, we sign him to a 1 day contract so that he can retire as a Seahawk. That's the way it should be. He belongs on the Ring of Honor in my opinion.

This interview says all there is to say about the guy. Plain and simple, one of my all-time favorite Seattle sports figures. Total class act is almost understating the guy. In today's sports landscape it's pretty rare when the guy leading your team is that stand up a guy. There's a ton of varying factors that have led to fans not fully appreciating the guy. But when all is said and done (and a couple dozen or so CW or TJ retardo plays), fans will ultimately realize what #8 meant to this team and city.

Ken Griffey Jr, Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Randy Johnson, Edgar Martinez. These are the end all, be all that I as a Seattle sports fan of the 80s/90s/2000s have had. But I can't say that any of them made the same impact on a personal, good guy level that Matt Hasselbeck did. Matt may not have a hall of famer. But in terms of stand up guys, IMO, he was second to none.

"It was a dream come true to be the quarterback in Seattle."

That's a quote from this King 5 interview. A lot of pro athletes say a lot of things in today's million dollar world. And a lot of it (most of it) is disingenuine. But this interview, along with this quote from Matt was about as genuine as can be. Matt wanted to end his career her just as much as many of us wanted him to end it. Call me a sucker. But that sort of thing matters to me.

#8 is one of the best we've ever had represent our city. It's not often that you have a player that cares as much as about the name on the front of the jersey as the one on the back. We had that with Matt. He was just as much one of us as he was a player taking in a paycheck from the team's owner. And call me a fool, but that sort of thing registered with me as a fan. And like I said before, I will continue to wear my Hass jersey at Qwest/Clink whatever the hell they are calling the stadium these days.

I was hoping to see two years to have his leadership for the transition to many of the young guys. That leadership is hard to find.

I watched the video, and it friggin killed me. I'm Retiring form the Navy this month, so I know what it is like to be moving on from someplace that has been a happy home for so long. Realizing the logic of moves like this doesn't really soften the blow sometimes.

I've been a fan of the Seahawks since I was a kid in the 80's, but the very first Seahawks game I ever watched in person was on 9/23/01 at Husky Stadium. It was Matt's first game starting. That's something I'm proud to say I got to see since I don't get to go to many games. Matt has been my favorite player over the last 10 years, and I'm sad to see him go, but I understand what PC & Co are trying to do and I'm cool with it.

I wish Matt luck in TN, and I will be rooting him on until he retires. And I hope that the FO will bring him back for a day so he can retire as a Seahawk. I look forward to seeing his name in the RoH someday.

Matt you are a total class act and will always be my favorite Seahawk. Good luck to you for the next few years in TN. There will be a lot of Seahawk fans pulling for you. My hope is that you will be able to come back and sign that 1 day contract so you can retire a Seahawk. I can't wait to see your name in the Ring of Honor.

Dear Matthew,When I became a fan of the Seattle Seahawks, I knew nothing about the team. The year was 2000. John Kitna, Brock Huard, Chad Eaton, Chad Brown... I had no idea what I was in for except that my Nebraska Cornhuskers were headed towards a downward spiral and I wasn't ready for that. I figured that if I was going to root for a team that sucked, I'd choose a new one. But I couldn't just abandon my Huskers like that. I had to switch my focus to the NFL. I picked the Seahawks for no good reason other than I liked their logo.I was going to college for graphic design and seemingly immediately as soon as I had chosen the Hawks as my new football team, they came up with what I think is the best logo and color scheme in the league at the time. I was, forgive me, pumped and jacked. Add in Shaun Alexander and Mike Holmgren... sorry if that stirs bad memories, Matt. I'll move on.So there I was, hoping to be rooting for the underdog, sporting Seahawks gear just about everywhere I went in Kearney, Nebraska. It felt cool. People would ask me why and I'd start by telling them that the Huskers were going to blow chunks under Frank Solich and I've moved on and you should too. Then I'd get into my routine about how much nicer the Pacific Northwest would be as compared to landlocked corn-producing Nebraska. I lost every argument. The only reason - Husker football and corn rule here. It felt nice. I wanted an under-the-radar underdog team and that's what I had. But I also had a new passion for graphic design and NFL football.I went to my first game. A preseason game in Denver. You started. You sucked badly. But holy cow is Colorado beautiful! The rest is history.You have been my one and only quarterback for my one and only NFL team. I've grown with you, perhaps largely because of you.This has been an amazing ten years. I love you, Matt.

Thank you for everything you did for this team Matt. It's not going to be the same without #8. Wish you the best of luck on all of your endeavors in the NFL. When all is said and done, come home to retire please!